One of the world's favourite*guitar*manufacturers*could be forced to pull the plug because of dire financial problems, as the industry struggles to cope with waning interest in rock music.* Gibson, a favourite of musicians*such as*BB King, Slash, Santana and Bob Marley, is struggling with*debt repayment deadlines and the recent departure of its chief financial officer after less than a year in the job.

Gibson: Iconic guitar brand reportedly on the brink of bankruptcy.

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One of the world's favourite guitar manufacturers could be forced to pull the plug because of dire financial problems, as the industry struggles to cope with waning interest in rock music.

According to a recent report in the Nashville Post, Gibson Guitars faces a $375m (£268m) deadline for a debt repayment in less than six months’ time. A further $145m worth of bank loans are due to mature immediately, if those notes – which were issued back in 2013 – are not refinanced or repaid by 23 July...

Every week, Spotify and Apple Music are flooded with a slew of new, zeitgeist-defining albums that are yours for the streaming. Why, then, after a few songs, do we tend to retreat back into the comforting arms of Tupac Shakur, Alanis Morissette, or Robert Smith? No, it’s not because nobody makes ’em like they used to; it’s because, as is the case with pretty much everything in life, we’re still beholden to the things that shaped us as teenagers.

We turn to the art in times of political strife - it helps us to navigate, and alleviate, our troubles. So what happens when one of the causes of that political strife is absorbing more and more of our arts and culture?

Sound engineer Patrick Baltzell designed the audio for the Super Bowl halftime show for the first time in 1998, and in that year and the five that followed it all went great. Fans in the stadium could clearly hear performers such as Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder or Phil Collins and U2, and the millions and millions of viewers watching on television never missed a note.

But in 2004, when Super Bowl XXXVIII was headed to Houston, Baltzell realized he had a problem.

Today, Auddly announces a deal with Universal Music Publishing Group for the company to begin using its software to help manage and track song data. Although Auddly already works with several large performance rights organizations, this is its first deal with a major publisher.

We first did this back in 2014, and then again last year, so here we are again. As we predicted as streaming consumption grows, the per stream rate will continue to drop, every year, year to year. This data set is isolated to the calendar year 2017 and represents a mid-sized indie label with an&hellip;

Baby boomers grew up with music blasting from dorm room turntables, car stereos, and arenas where the sound of a band at full throttle could rival the roar of a jet engine. Volume became an act of generational defiance. As rocker Ted Nugent put it: “If it’s too loud, you’re too old.”

Artists Rights advocate Blake Morgan (#IRespectMusic) published a story in the Huffington Post this morning critical of Spotify. The story was rapidly gaining traction when it was suddenly deleted and Morgan received this email from the Huffington Post: From: Bryan Maygers &lt;&gt; Subject: Spotify’s Fatal Flaw Exposed Date: January 8, 2018 at 11:43:41 AM EST&hellip;